


Vanishing Act

by Karieauthoress (ksrandomme), ksrandomme



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-26
Updated: 2009-03-26
Packaged: 2017-10-18 01:05:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/183285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/Karieauthoress, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/ksrandomme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sandburg pulls a Houdini act that surprises Jim, but is all as it seems?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vanishing Act

  
He didn’t know why, but he felt that something wasn’t right when he walked into the loft. It was like the rising of the hairs on the back of his neck, something spooky in a world of natural instinct. He slowly walked in, taking note of each difference as it registered on his senses. There was the presence of heavy cleaners. Ammonia and lemon. Harsh abrasives that he filtered as soon as his sense of smell identified them. The fact that they weren’t overpowering told him that it had been hours since their use.

  
His hearing cast about for signals that he received without effort. No heartbeat, no breathing. No ticking clock and no white noise. Silence reigned in the loft. He blinked. Stillness and silence, not normal on any given day. He moved hypnotically towards the small room under the stairs, the French doors left ajar. Inside the room looked the same, but wasn’t. Certain books that had once lined the shelves were missing. Three, by his count. He sifted through sense memory until he could remember which three were missing. Psychology books. Criminal mind and understanding the Unknown Subject. He glanced around and found that, other than the missing books, the room was spotless. Again, it was scrubbed to within an inch of its paint with the same chemicals as the main area of the loft. The sheets on the bed were fresh and cool to the touch.

  
Missing. He was beginning to quietly panic now. Something very important was happening here. This wasn’t a test, this was far more meticulous than anything that he could have ever planned. He knelt and checked under the bed for something that should be there. It too was missing. Not good, or more to the point, it was very bad. He stood and walked back into the main area, glancing at shelves and checking the contents of the fridge. Food was still on the shelves, nothing had been taken. The shelf with the teas was intact. Taking nothing but the books and the bag. Running, but not in fright. It was too meticulous, methodical to be fright, so what did that leave him with… to protect. The missing, the taken, the ritual cleansing was a message that he understood loud and clear.

  
Don’t come find me, don’t try to follow… wait.

  
He walked to the phone, lifted it from its cradle and hit speed dial. After a ring or two, it was answered in a gruff tone. He sighed.

  
“Blair’s gone… no, I don’t know where… yeah, I’m at home… ok, I’ll wait.”

  
Jim Ellison put the phone back on its cradle, sat down at the table, and dropped his head in his hands.

  
What the hell?

 

o-O-o

  
When Simon reached the loft, it was to find a quiet Jim Ellison sipping a beer and staring out the balcony windows, his expression closed as he thought. Simon locked the door behind him and fetched himself a beer, popping the cap and joining his friend by the windows. After a minute or two of sipping, he ventured his first of many questions.

  
“You’re sure he wasn’t kidnapped?”

  
Jim glared at him before answering. “It was planned. No scent, only certain things were taken. He took his emergency ‘Get the hell out of Dodge’ backpack from under the bed, Simon.”

  
“So that’s it? He wipes his existence from the face of the earth and leaves? Why? Did you two have another fight?” Simon grimaced. If that were the case, then he wanted to have first kick at Jim’s ass for his part in whatever disagreement they had. But Jim just stared at him incredulously.

  
“Hell no, we didn’t have an argument! Things were going well, our arrest record is intact, and everyone likes him. Me especially! The senses have been on point and perfect. He even spoke to his mother for the first time last night. He didn’t forgive her, but he talked to her. There was nothing to indicate he was skipping out anywhere.” Jim fumed as he turned for the kitchen. “But Simon, I’ve felt the tension in him the last few days. I was standing there before you came in, trying to pinpoint when it started and I’m just not sure.”

  
Simon watched his friend for a moment, trying to put it all together. “Something must have been eating at him, but if not you than whom? Or what?”

  
Jim walked into the bedroom that was once his partner’s… still his partner’s… The man was missing, not gone for good. “He ran from something. Or someone. But he didn’t leave without a plan. This is Sandburg we are talking about, after all.”

  
“Did you check his friends? Call the station and put out an APB on the car? What about his accounts?”

  
Jim grimaced at each suggestion. “He has no friends but the PD, and then only in Major Crimes. The Volvo is still in the lot outside. And his wallet and keys are still in his room. No ATM card missing or anything. He’s running, but he’s hiding. He doesn’t plan to leave the city.”

  
“This means he could have found someone that was a threat to you. It’s the only thing that fits.” Simon stepped away from the balcony, aiming for the center of the room. His eyes scanned out at the other buildings but he saw nothing out of place. Jim noticed his Captain’s look and, coupled with his words, figured out what he was getting at.

  
“The only reason the Guide would hide is in order to protect his Sentinel. Some threat to me or him that he felt the need to neutralize. Shit, Simon, he’s out there alone!” Jim slammed around the loft, throwing himself into a chair and growling low in his throat. “I don’t know where to start.”

  
“He didn’t leave a note, of course… so we start where the tension started,” Simon replied. Jim thought for a moment.

  
“The station. Someone at the station. Any new people on our floor?”

  
“Six,” answered Simon.

  
“Could be any one of them.” Jim glared towards the TV, his mind lost in thought.

  
“So, we gather what we can, try not to act upset that he’s gone. Make up some excuse for his absence… he’s transferred to Seattle for a short time, interdepartmental something-or- other… Trying to further his standings in the community, cleaning up his reputation.” Simon sat on the couch. “Whatever we come up with, we can’t let on that he’s gone.”

  
“Right…” Jim snapped his attention back to his Captain. “And while you’re making him look good, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, see who flickers to the lie.”

  
“Undercover operation in our own department,” Simon muttered. “I’m thinking that we need to retire, take the kid and find a new home some place where it’s nice and warm and we can fish every day.”

  
Jim grinned, “Yeah, and make sure that there’s some indigenous tribe nearby for him to interact with. Just to keep his mind sharp.”

  
Simon barked a laugh that Jim joined in with and for a moment the fear was forgotten. It was soon replaced with determination and no little dread attached as Jim sighed. “This is going to be one hell of an assignment.”

 

o-O-o

  
Run, run, run, move, move, move… don’t let up, don’t crawl, duck and weave, find a hole, hide! His mind was racing as his body moved in and out of the shadows from one alley to another. His feet barely touched the ground as he searched building after dilapidated building for a place to hide. Finding one that hadn’t been taken by the homeless people, he recognized with something short of chagrin that it was his old warehouse. Sweet irony, that.

  
He didn’t waste time thinking about it, simply let himself in the old door and scuttled to the section that hadn’t been damaged by the explosion that left him homeless five years prior. It was a wonder that the building was still there, but any port in a storm as it were. He hunkered down to rest his feet and legs. He didn’t plan to sleep there. He had other places to go and people to see, if he could get back to see them. He had to stay out of sight as much as possible.

  
He couldn’t believe what he had seen. Nightmare, that’s what it was. And he hadn’t done anything to deserve this particular predicament, but it was his to deal with now. If only he hadn’t been so good at what he did, if only he had kept his nose out of it… If only the guy hadn’t been dirty.

  
Shit.

  
And Jim, poor Jim… gods, he had to leave Jim out of this for now. Until he knew it was safe. Until he knew that Jim wasn’t going to be hurt. Until he had the evidence to get the guy and keep Jim from getting into trouble. He had already called way too much attention to his friend before this. Now was the wrong time to involve his partner in something that could get them both killed.

  
When he had gotten the fax in from D.C. he knew he had trouble on his hands. And the guy knew it as well, had said as much in the stairwell. Jim was at lunch with Simon, had left him there to deal with the reports. The guy was in the stairwell when he came in, pushed him against the wall, pulled a wicked looking knife, threatened him…

  
“Say a word, one word, you punk freak, and you and your partner will find yourselves at the bottom of the Sound. Get me?”

  
He got it, all too well did he get it. The moment the guy let him up, he was running, down the stairs out the door to the garage and he high-tailed it back to the loft. He took the most direct route to gain time. He slammed into the loft and locked up behind himself. He had set the alarm that Jim had put in place after the Lash incident. He shook with freaked out fear.

  
Time passed and still he stood, staring at the door, jumping at each and every sound. The phone rang and he jerked around to stare at the answering machine.

  
“Please let it be Jim, please, please, please…”

  
BEEP

  
 _*Hey, Punk. Remember what I said. You keep your nose out of my business and you get to live. You wouldn’t be the first rookie punk to fuck around where he didn’t belong. Remember that I hold your life and that of your partner’s in my hand.*_

  
The phone had gone to dial tone at that moment and he had slumped down to the floor, fear radiating from every pore. He couldn’t tell Jim… couldn’t tell Simon… or anyone else. He couldn’t call attention to this without help, without evidence. The report he had gotten from his contact in D.C. was gone, he had dropped it when the guy had grabbed him in the stairwell. Scary guy surely had it by now and so it was gone. There was only one thing to do to keep his friends safe. It was time for Blair Sandburg to disappear.

  
His escape plan was flawless; he only hoped that Jim really meant it when he said he would forever and always trust his Guide. Whispering to himself as he scrubbed down every surface with cleaner to mask his escape, he prayed that Jim would be able to forgive him when this was all over. He grabbed only a few books, the ones that he had bought when he started profiling suspects for the learning experience it had given him. He snagged the emergency pack from under his bed, left his ID and his keys and took off into the late afternoon, using the back fire escape to the alley. He was gone in no time.

  
After running to the school, doubling back to one of Jim’s favorite coffee shops and then back to the warehouse district, he finally found himself here in his old home. Shivering in the approaching night chill, he pulled his coat tighter around himself and sent up near silent prayers to the gods and goddess surrounding him that he could vanish within his city, run silent and deep until he could surface enough to get the proof he needed that would stop this guy.

  
And he prayed that his spirit animal would stay by Jim and protect him until his Guide could return.

 

o-O-o

  
It had only been a few hours, only over night, and Jim was already feeling the pressure of his missing partner. People in the bullpen asked where Sandburg was and he had to make something up. He told them that the rookie detective was sick and stayed home to rest. That worked for today and hopefully before long he would have a better answer when asked. The kid could only stay sick for so long before the questions would arise again.

  
Conner had asked if there was anything she could do for his partner but he had gracefully declined. H and Rafe had offered to take cases off his hands so that he could clear his desk faster and get back home and he was happy to accept the help. Joel had promised chicken soup from his wife and Jim had smiled and said that would be nice. Simon watched it all from his office and said nothing to dissuade the talk. It was the cover story that the two had come up with to deal with this for now and it was working.

  
Meanwhile both men were looking a bit closer at things that Sandburg had dealt with the past week. Jim was remembering more and more the tension from his partner only starting a week before his disappearance, so that was where they started. There was nothing in the files. The next place to look had been the old files, the low-lifers who had been put away, but nothing jumped out from there either. No one who could hurt Jim. Brackett was still locked up. Likewise Kincaid, Quinn, and Barnes, the last being held in a maximum security psych ward.

  
The truth was, there was nothing to indicate that Sandburg had found something dangerous from their past or present. So why had the kid split so quickly? What was he thinking about, who had he spoken to?

  
The next few days quickly became strained as sickness turned into temporary transfer to Seattle for the new cop. They needed fresh bodies due to some trumped up IA charges. Or so Simon said. Others volunteered to go in the kid’s place, but the Captain had refused, saying that the kid had to pull his own weight and it would only be for a few days, maybe a week or so. Jim promised to keep everyone up to date with the phone calls from his partner. Phone calls that would likely never come about, but worked for the cover they were trying to keep intact.

  
But it was getting harder and harder with each passing day to keep the hope inside as well.

  
“Hey, Ellison, how’s that punk partner of yours doing?” Mark Devlin, formerly of the L.A. vice squad, shuffled through the bullpen and made a beeline for Jim’s desk, smug smirk in place.

  
“He’s fine, Devlin. Why do you ask?” Jim sat back in his chair, leaning it against the wall behind his desk. He never liked the L.A. transplant. Ever since the man had breezed in with his gruff snarls and his high-browed attitude, he had brought tension to Jim’s shoulders and neck. Sandburg had spent nearly a week trying to calm the Sentinel down with words and meditation. His fingers had worked tense muscles until he could finally sleep at night, only to wake in the morning and struggle all over again in the office. After the first few days, the partners had taken to slipping out of the office well before Devlin even made an appearance. Jim was always listening for the slimy detective and had them well out of the way before having to be confronted with his oily smile.

  
Devlin leaned a hip against the ex-ranger’s immaculate desk and smiled that devilish grin of his. “I just heard the rumor that he was looking to stay in Seattle, even after they get their shit straightened up over there.”

  
Jim kept his face neutral. The IA thing in Seattle had been a ruse to keep Sandburg under cover, so Devlin’s summations were incorrect. But Jim wasn’t about to let on to that little fact. Instead he raised one eyebrow in a disbelieving expression, waiting for Devlin to continue. The detective was happy to oblige.

  
“Folks round here were wondering when you were going to join him,” Devlin grinned with perfectly white teeth. Jim resisted the urge to rip the man’s throat out here in the bullpen.

  
“Wouldn’t know anything about it, Devlin,” Jim said, glaring. “Why, just last night he was telling me how glad he would be to get back home.”

  
He waited a beat, extending his hearing to take in the heartbeat of his fellow detective. Hearing the slightly too fast cadence, Jim began to have a sneaky suspicion. He decided to test the theory. “He was just telling me about some special case he wanted to get back to… said he was going to really dig into it when he had the chance… said he was really close to solving some puzzle…”

  
The heartbeat jumped up in speed; soon it was fairly pounding without rhythm. He opened his sense of smell enough to catch the fear stink wafting off the man before him. It was all making sense now…

  
Soon after, Devlin made noises about getting back to work on his own case and fairly fled the bullpen. Jim watched him go and then made his way to Simon’s office, rapping politely before entering. Simon put his phone down and looked up, his eyes wide in question. Jim growled.

  
“I think we have our first suspect.”

 

o-O-o

  
Blair’s first order of business was getting a better place to hide. He remembered why he was so glad the warehouse had been blown to hell when the rats came out late that night. He had only stayed one night there before moving on to the nearest homeless shelter. He jumped from place to place, never staying anywhere two days in a row. He also never went to a shelter where he had visited as a student or cop.

  
He kept out of sight and tried to formulate some sort of plan for himself. He found clothing to transform himself into the persona of a crazy druggie, someone to ignore as he rambled on about nothing. He visited every branch of the local library that had a computer as he surfed the net, searching for clues, information, proof. Day after day this went on, week after week. Just as he was about to give up completely, one day in a library not three blocks from home, the truth landed in his lap.

  
“Vice detective Mark Devlin has been suspended pending investigation into the allegations that he and several of his fellow officers were taking money from various drug cartel busts over the last three years. There is, as of yet, no proof to the allegations, but Internal Affairs investigators are searching into the day to day dealings of the detectives in question and ascertaining if there is any truth to the alleged actions of theft, fraud and file tampering…” It went on from there to list all the officers involved with the drug smuggling ring that had been investigated. Blair continued sifting through files, hacking into the PD mainframe and digging further until he came up with the IA report.

  
There were names and dates there that showed Devlin in the middle of a lot of things, but nothing to show that he was guilty of anything in particular. So why, if the man was innocent, did he get bent out of shape over a fax from D.C.? It simply made the young rookie want to find more. And to do that, he would have to dig deeper.

  
Checking his e-mail account brought nothing new and he debated sending Jim a note to let him know that he was still alive and safe. He chose not to at this time and logged off. It was time to move the party somewhere else, so he hopped a bus to Rainier with the intention of using the pay phone at the back of the Student Union building. As long as he kept moving, no one could pin point his location and therefore they wouldn’t know that he was running. He figured it’s what Jim would have done. And Jim was the expert here.

  
As he stepped off the bus he caught sight of the brown sedan that was Rafe and Brown’s vehicle of choice when working. It was enough to make him want to claw his way right back onto the bus and get out of there. It was not in the plans, any of the plans that he be seen. He had to slip away, quickly. His eyes lit upon some shrubs he knew would take him to the back of Hargrove and he ducked behind them.

  
By the time he had skirted the shrubs in front of Hargrove hall, the bus was gone. He hid by the side of the building and glanced around the corner. The building he wanted was on the other side of the quad from him and if anyone saw him it would all be a cock up.

  
“Shit…” he muttered as he kept an eye out for his fellow cops. It wasn’t but a minute later that the two men in question exited the Student Union building and made their way to the car, Brown climbing into the driver’s seat and Rafe taking a moment to scan the quad with the passenger door open. Blair ducked his head back quickly when Rafe’s eyes raked across him. Mentally he prayed that he looked scruffy enough to be overlooked. He breathed in slow and easy until he heard the car doors slam shut and the engine turn over. He glanced around the corner once, pleased to see the two detectives in the car and driving off.

  
It appeared the gods were with him this day as he detached himself from the wall he was hiding behind and shuffled his way across the quad towards the building. He had calls to make and people to question.

  
He didn’t notice the brown sedan slowly cruise past the quad once more; Brown and Rafe watching him enter the building, then look to each other with grim expressions on their faces.

 

o-O-o

  
It had been three weeks since Sandburg’s disappearance. Three days since Jim got the sneaking suspicion that Mark Devlin had something to do with it. But the big cop wasn’t getting anywhere with his questions and searches. Mark Devlin looked as shiny as a new penny, on paper. In the flesh he was oily, sneaky, worse than Sneaks with a nice tip to share. Jim frowned. Speaking of his favorite snitch, the man himself had left a message with Rhonda that he had info the detective might find interesting, although he didn’t elaborate.

  
When Jim arrived, it was with a small package under his arm. Shoes just like Blair liked to wear most of the time. Sneakers for Sneaks, if the man could come through with something. It didn’t take long for his young friend to show up in the booth.

  
“Hey, Ellison, long time no see!” The young snitch smiled as he took note of the box sitting next to Jim. “That wouldn’t happen to be for me, now would it?”

  
Jim smiled, “Depends on the information you have, Sneaks. You know how it goes… If the service is top drawer, you get the tip.” He laid one hand possessively atop the box. Sneaks watched covetously before dragging his eyes back up to meet Jim’s.

  
“Yeah so, I’m down in the district, right? And I sees your partner in one of the old buildings. I remember this one coz it’s where he used to live, see?” Sneaks snagged a fry off Jim’s plate before going on. “So, here I is, I goes to talk to him and he waves me off. Takes off the next day and I tracks him down! He waits til I sees him again, only this time he’s in the marketplace, out by the Uni, right?”

  
Jim leans forward now, this was interesting. He gestured for Sneaks to continue and the man obliged with a smile.

  
“See, and this is where I gets the tip, man. He drags me off behind one of the stalls and he tells me, he says ‘Sneaks, my man, I needs you to take a message to Jim.’ And I agree, sure I’ll do anything for the kid, he’s got good taste in shoes, you know? So then he tells me ‘Jim needs to watch his back with the Devil.’ And I don’t know what that means, but he says to me ‘Tell Jim he needs to watch his back around the Devil, and that I’m coming back when I find the key to the Gates of Hell!’ and then he slips off real sudden like.” Sneaks slid back in his seat and watched as Jim began the process of understanding this information.

  
“How long ago was this, Sneaks?”

  
“Bout two weeks ago. He tells me I gotta be careful before I sees you, so I waited.” Sneaks snuck the last fry off the plate. Jim watched him for a moment before picking up the box and depositing it on the table, then he slipped out of the booth, paid the check and left without a word. He never gave Sneaks a second glance.

  
Simon was waiting in his office and waved the other man in as soon as he saw him enter the bullpen. Jim closed the door before the captain said anything. “So what did your snitch give you?”

  
Jim sighed as he sat heavily in one of the chairs. “He confirmed my suspicions that something was up with Devlin. Blair knew something, suspected something before I did. I think Devlin said something, threatened something, and Blair ran.”

  
“To protect you, right?” Simon asked, pulling his glasses off and wiping his eyes briefly before returning the gold rims to perch on his nose.

  
“I’m the only thing he would have to protect, Simon. Naomi is out there unreachable, so Devlin couldn’t hurt her if he wanted to. I’m his partner, his roommate… and little known fact, his Sentinel. His inborn response is to protect me at all costs, just like I protect him. ‘S why I was never able to get him to stay in the damn truck.” Jim sighed again as he relaxed further in his seat. Simon snorted once before turning to glance through the window of his office that faced the bullpen. His gaze was caught up in Brown and Rafe having a covert conversation at their desks, hushed whispers and darting glances towards the Captain’s office telling him that something was up.

  
“Jim, we may have some trouble.” Simon’s muttering drew Jim to share his line of sight and take in the detective team with the second highest arrest record in the division. He blinked once, tilted his head slightly, and extended his hearing out to the two men.

  
“So, do you think we should ask Jim what Hairboy is doing here in Cascade rather than in Seattle, where the boss said he was?”

  
“I would say yes, but something tells me that it might not be such a good idea to call attention…”

  
“What are you thinking, Partner?”

  
“I’m thinking about what the Captain said about interdepartmental task forces and evaluations coming up in a few weeks.”

  
Pause for a moment as both sat back in thought. The H spoke up again.

  
“But that would make no sense, why have Sandburg come back here to test… why not send someone else?”

  
“So, you don’t think it’s a test of our observational skills?”

  
“If so, then we should tell the Captain that we spotted the kid. Then we get our kudos and we can get back to the job. Otherwise we are going to be stressing over is it or isn’t it, you know what I mean?”

  
Another pause. Jim tensed when first H and then Rafe glanced in his direction.

  
“You think all the shit about that fake diss was truth?”

  
“You mean, you think Ellison really does have really good hearing? What of it?”

  
“Then would you think that he could hear us talking about his partner right now?”

  
H dropped his pen and stared hard in the direction of Simon’s office, but Jim had sat down quickly on the other side of the desk, acting as if he hadn’t heard a word.

  
“I don’t know man, but I really think you’re right and we should tell the Captain.”

  
“With or without Ellison in the room?”

  
Silence.

  
“With… from the way the kid looked, I don’t want Ellison thinking his partner is in that much trouble.”

  
Jim sat up suddenly and focused on Simon again.

  
“Follow my lead, we are about to get company,” warned the detective. Simon nodded once and barked for the two men to come in when he heard the knock on the door.

  
“Rafe, Brown, something I can do for you two?”

  
Rafe tried to look relaxed as he leaned against the desk. Brown sat in the chair next to Jim and smiled his way meaningfully. He was the one to speak first.

  
“Yeah captain, so me and Rafe here were over at Rainier questioning some kids on that dormitory fire a week ago, the one that the campus police are at a loss on?”

  
Simon nodded. Rafe took over.

  
“We came out of the Student Union building when I caught sight of something, or someone, that I was certain I recognized. But see there’s a problem.”

  
Simon tried to look bored as Jim smirked as he remarked, “Old girlfriend, Mr. G.Q.?”

  
“Nah, not my type, you know that, Ellison. This was a guy… short, maybe five foot seven, five foot eight inches, curly hair, permanent five o’clock shadow. He was wearing the rattiest jeans and a dark flannel shirt, and a jean jacket that looked like it came from a Salvation Army surplus store, you know?” Rafe sat back as Simon’s eyes widened. Jim snorted derisively before speaking.

  
“Damnit, Simon I told you that having Blair do the damn evaluations would be a mistake. He’s too easy to spot!”

  
Simon caught on instantly. “Wasn’t my call and you know it, Ellison. They said they wanted the unconventional from the unit and you know as well as I do that Sandburg fits the bill perfectly!” He snaked a hand out for a sheet of paper and a pen.

  
“Right, so tell me where you saw him and what he was doing. It goes into the report we are collecting for the Governor’s evaluation meeting in two weeks.”

  
Rafe was all too happy to oblige. It appeared that he and H had been right all along and now he and H were getting a high mark for spotting their friend on the streets of Cascade. Before they left, Simon admonished them to keep this to themselves for a bit longer as the evaluations were for everyone. They nodded happily, then went out to lunch. Jim sighed as they entered the elevator.

  
“Damn, that was too close, and easy.”

  
“You think the kid’s tired?” asked Simon as he stared at the paper with the time and place of the Blair sighting. Hargrove hall, across the quad from the Student Union building. Jim sat back in thought.

  
“No, I think he assumed he had gotten away after seeing Rafe and H and went to the Student Union building to use the private phone bank in the back. With a pocket full of change, he can make calls all afternoon. Each phone has a different number and anyone tracing him would have a tough time of it as long as he jumped from phone to phone. There are ten of them back there.” Jim smiled.

  
Simon smirked as well. “Stroke of genius with the evaluation story.”

  
“H and Rafe totally fed me that opening in their conversation. They think that Blair is being used to increase observation skills.” Jim cocked his head to the side when he heard more conversation. “And from the sounds of it, they let it slip and now other cops that we know are wondering if they can spot him…”

  
Simon began to chuckle. “The kid’s not going to be able to hide for long this way. The other brothers and sisters in blue can keep tabs of him for us and turn in their handy reports to me in hopes of a favorable evaluation.”

  
Jim smiled, then his face fell a moment. “That’s not all, Simon. If Devlin is the guy who scared Blair and he knows that Blair’s been spotted, he might go after the kid to drive home his message of fear.”

  
Simon grimaced. “Shit! I hadn’t thought of that. Now that we have a sighting of Blair, I thought it would get better, but this just makes it worse. We need to know what set the kid off, what Devlin did or is doing that could hurt you. If we can catch Devlin, we can stop this from getting worse.”

  
“Yeah,” growled Jim as he stood, heading for the door and out for more legwork on his unofficial case. “But first, we’ve got to catch Devlin.”

 

o-O-o

  
The first ring of the phone jerked him to full wakefulness. The second had him out of the bed and down the stairs. He hadn’t been sleeping all that well these days, fear for his Guide keeping him on edge throughout the night. The third ring had the phone in his hand. “Ellison!”

  
“Jim! Where is he? I can’t find him, usually I can, but I can’t right now!” The voice wasn’t one he remembered right off hand. He opened his mouth to ask when the voice answered his mental query. “It’s Jack Kelso. I need to find Blair, where is he?”

  
Jack Kelso, ex-CIA turned teaching professor at Rainier, was a great friend of Blair’s. One who had been invaluable as an informant on a number of occasions. And he had been watching for Blair. Was worried about his partner and Guide. Oh God! Why hadn’t he thought of Jack?

  
“Jack, thank God. Where are you, what are you doing right now? Can you meet me somewhere for coffee?” Jim was already thinking about places that he could meet the wheelchair bound Professor while racing back up the stairs for a clean pair of jeans. God he was such an idiot!

  
“Coffee, yeah. There’s a shop two blocks from my building, just off campus. Meet you there in, what twenty minutes?” Jack was already at the same level of fear and frustration that Jim had fallen into the minute he walked into his home four weeks ago only to find an absence within that now echoed.

  
“I can be there in ten, see you!” Jim clicked off, tossed the phone on the bed and dressed quickly. Rushing out of the building and making his way to the truck, he noticed that the weather was getting sharply colder with each passing day. Winter was fast approaching and Blair was still out there somewhere, no protection, freezing… Jim shook off his morose thoughts and climbed into the truck. He would find some way to get his Guide back, come hell or high water!

 

o-O-o

  
Jack was at one of the back tables, coffee sitting in front of him, when Jim walked in the door. The big cop took his time getting to a seat next to the other man, ordering a coffee along the way. When they were seated and sipping coffee, Jim sighed audibly.

  
“I am so glad you called me, I had forgotten your contacts entirely,” Jim said by way of greeting. Jack blinked in shock.

  
“You’re telling me he is missing? God, Jim, and you’re just now telling me?” The professor pulled his laptop out of its satchel and booted it up quickly. “I can’t get online here, but I have a list of names, contacts, that you can call on to get information on this guy. Damnit, I was trying to warn Blair but he disappeared before I could get him the fax!”

  
“Fax? What fax? What guy?” Jim stilled the frantic typing with a hand on Jack’s wrist and tried to catch his eye. Jack met his gaze steadily.

  
“Mark Devlin. I was trying to let Blair know about him.” Jack swallowed once, visibly.

  
“What were you trying to tell him? Who is this guy?” Jim sat back a bit and sighed. “Why am I getting signals that this guy is bad news?”

  
“Because, Jim,” Jack blew out a long breath. “Mark Devlin is on the Russian Mafia’s payroll.”

 

o-O-o

  
Blair struggled to control his panic as he jumped for the low hanging ladder to the fire escape. He needed to disappear again. His friends were looking for him on the streets near every place he had ever hung out before. His first thought was that it had been coincidence that Rafe and H were at the Student Union building at Rainier and maybe they had actually seen him. But now he had spotted Megan and Joel at the bakery just a block from the loft, and Jim was at the Coffee Bean with Jack! Jack of all people, sipping coffee and talking about God knows what!

  
This was getting out of hand! He had hoped that Jim hadn’t sensed him before he had managed to turn tail and head for one of the buildings that he could climb. He wanted to see Jack, but now it was an impossibility. If he was talking to Jim, then he knew that something was wrong. He would want to know why Blair was running and the young man didn’t want to involve anyone that Devlin could corner and put the screws to in order to get to him.

  
Things were getting worse with each passing day. He had managed to find out that Mark Devlin had some trouble with his fellow brothers in blue back in L.A. But it had been worse than he had imagined. There were whispers of hit men and the Russian Mafia. This was one thing that Blair did not need. After his brushes with Russian authorities in the past, he didn’t want to have to deal with the other side of the coin. Life seriously sucked.

  
When he had finally managed to snag the ladder and had climbed up a respectable distance without scaring himself to death, he settled in to watch his Sentinel and his old friend as they chatted over coffee. Whatever they were talking about, Jim didn’t seem very happy. Neither did Jack, for that matter, and Blair wondered what had them so upset. Then he remembered, these were men that cared about him, they were his best friends. So, of course who else would they be upset about. He ducked his head and smiled secretly. Well, at least he was reminded that he wasn’t alone in this world.

  
His thoughts were cut off when he noticed that Jim had gotten out of his seat, a diskette in hand. Jack pushed his chair away from the table and the two men shook hands before parting company. Blair watched his partner head out of the shop and walk over towards the truck. His steps took him fairly close to the building where Blair was hiding and for a moment the young man was worried that he had been spotted. But no, the older man was simply walking around the back of the truck to get to the driver’s side.

  
But then, just moments before Jim climbed into the truck, he pulled off his large jacket and set it on the edge of the truck bed. Blair held his breath, what could his Sentinel be thinking? It was almost as if he wasn’t thinking at all! Take the damn coat, you moron. It’s getting cold out here! But Jim couldn’t hear Blair’s thoughts. He climbed into the truck, started the engine, and peeled out of the parking lot. The coat, catching the wind from the swift take off, predictably lifted and then fluttered to the ground. Blair sat staring at the coat, dumbfounded. He glanced in the direction of the shop and saw that no one had noticed the speedy exit of the blue and white pick-up. Jack was gone and the shop was still mostly empty in its early morning routine.

  
Blair climbed down from his perch, stole over to the coat, and picked it up gingerly. Checking to be sure no one had seen him, he snuck back into the shadows, the coat clutched tightly to his chest. Once he was a block or two away, he turned the coat inside and out, looked in the pockets and came up with a wad of cash and a note.

  
“Stay out of the Devil’s shadow… The Host will take him down.”

  
Blair smiled in relief as he dragged the coat over his slight frame and added the cash to his own meager funds. Trust Jim to play covert ops guy and get his Guide things that he needed in the spur of the moment that it took him to notice his partner in a way that no one else could.Simon looked up when Jim entered his office and closed the door. His eyes narrowed as the Sentinel closed the blinds and sat across the desk from him in near darkness. The captain leaned forward to turn on his desk lamp. “Something you want to discuss, Detective?”

  
Jim smiled gently. “I heard Blair today.”

  
Simon cocked a brow in silent disbelief. “Do tell…”

  
“I went to talk to a friend of ours, met him at the Coffee Bean. Ever been there, Simon? They have some of the best coffee, right there off Rainier’s campus.”

  
Simon shook his head. “No, can’t say that I have. I’ll have to try it some time. So this friend, anyone I know?”

  
“Jack Kelso.” Jim watched the reaction. Simon swore silently.

  
“How the hell did we forget him?” asked the big man. Jim smiled again.

  
“Damned it I know, but he wanted to talk about Sandburg, so I went there and we chatted. He told me some interesting things that I need to check out.”

  
Simon nodded.

  
“So,” continued Jim, “There I was, in the coffee shop, when I hear the sweet sounds of my Guide’s heart. And then it began to fade away for a bit.”

  
“He saw you and ran,” surmised the captain. Jim nodded. Then he continued to tell Simon about the encounter with Jack, the information disk that he had received from the Professor and how he left his coat with the cash in the pocket. Simon smiled. “You think he got it?”

  
“I believe so. I think he was watching me, Simon. And he knows that I’m not lost to him. I left him a note, a little cryptic maybe, but it got the point across. Now I have to track down more info on Devlin. He’s dangerous Simon, and he could really hurt Blair if he had to. I want that man stopped before he gets the chance.” Jim growled low in his throat, the Sentinel in him leashing his anger with a will. Simon nodded sharply.

  
“I am with you on that, Jim. I want to know if this man is dirty and put a stop to him, fast. The sooner we get the goods on him, the sooner we can bring Sandburg back home out of the cold.”

  
o-O-o

  
Blair sat at the top of the Rainier Library and scanned the ground below for signs of life. There were few and so he felt he could slip down and head out. He had slept on the roof during the day to catch the warm sun and stay clear of prying eyes. It was a tactic that he had picked up from tribes in the jungles on expedition. Sleep by day, travel at night. Hitting the ground beside the Library, he scanned the shadows before venturing off into the darkness.

  
Finding the all night coffee and internet cafe empty, he slipped in and took a back booth with a private laptop and ordered the largest coffee he could get. He had money now and he was using it sparingly. The coffee would warm him up and wake him up. He could sleep tomorrow morning when others moved. Turning his attention to the computer before him, he started with hacking into the Cascade PD’s server. Within minutes he was in Jim’s hard drive and checking up on his reports. Then he used his partner’s user name and password to start a few discreet searches of his own.

  
He came across the fax that had been sent to him and finally got a good look at it. Words like “Mafia” and “Pay-offs” swam across the screen and he realized that this was what Devlin didn’t want him to see. But there was no proof… Or was there? He still had a few favors to call in. And one person who, although he wasn’t sure about talking to her about this, might provide a direction for more searches. Clicking the keys, he called up the internet White Pages and did a search for Micki Kamerev. He didn’t find her in the public records so he switched off to the Feds and the Spooks. It didn’t take long to find her still in Cascade of all places. He made note of her address and moved on.

  
While he was in the PD mainframe, he sent a message through the intra-personnel messaging service to Simon. He figured that Devlin wouldn’t have the Captain’s link flagged and thus safe to send to. After composing a short, simple message, he sent it and logged off quickly. All in all, he had spent 45 minutes in the shop and felt it was time to move on. He paid for his coffee and left, shuffling towards the bus stop nearby.

  
After a long, round-about trip to Little Russia, he found the building that Micki called home and climbed the fire escape to the roof. He found the heat exhaust fan and settled in close for the night. If he dozed, there was a good bet that the sun would wake him. He would try to catch Micki in the morning and see what she could help him find using Russian underground sources. If Devlin was in town on the Russian Mafia’s dime, he needed to know why.

  
o-O-o

  
Micki Kamerev hadn’t changed much in the two years since he had last seen her. He on the other hand had changed very much. As he knocked on the door to her apartment, he began to feel a little self-conscious of his clothing and dirty appearance. He shrugged it off though as soon as the door opened and the person behind it blinked in surprise. He swallowed his own surprise at the sight of Inspector Major Katrina Vaslova formerly of the now defunct KGB.

  
“Inspector Major…” he greeted with civility. Vaslova blinked again and gazed deeply into his dark blue eyes, searching for some recognizing factor.

  
“Blair Sandburg?” she confirmed hesitantly. He nodded but shushed her with an upraised finger. She blinked again, reached out a hand and drew him silently inside. After checking to be sure that there was no one else with him, she shut the door and locked it. Micki came out of an inner room, her eyes sparkling with surprise. Blair smiled back at her.

  
“Hi Micki, long time no see.” He grinned. In an instant he was holding 125 pounds of Russian red head, her giggling turning into full-blown laughter.

  
“Oh, Blair, I did not think to see you again! How did you find us? We have only just made it from Russia three months ago!” Micki began to chatter non-stop until Vaslova took the younger woman by the arm and pulled her away for a moment. She, too, took her chance to hug the man she last heard had given up his career for his friend and partner, Jim Ellison.

  
“Where is Detective Ellison?” she asked without a hint of hesitation. He shook his head as he explained.

  
“Jim doesn’t know I’m here. Hell, I don’t think he knows that you two are here either. I found out through the feds mainframe. But I was hoping that you could help me with something.”

  
Micki gestured for Blair to sit down while Vaslova went to make some tea for the three of them. Once poured, Blair sipped from his cup and sighed with relief. Micki watched him with a bemused expression on her face. “Tell me, Blair, how is it you come to us dressed like a common street person?”

  
“It’s a long story. I am digging into leads on a case. A possible dirty cop in Major Crimes has threatened Jim and myself with bodily harm if we get in his way.” Blair sipped more tea as he allowed the two women to digest this nugget of information. “Of course, Jim doesn’t know that Devlin has him marked as a danger to him, but I was up close and personal with the man about a month ago. He made threats that I felt were valid, so I took off.”

  
“But once you had calmed down enough, you realized that, as a police officer, there was something that you could do?” Vaslova smiled. “You have placed yourself… under cover?”

  
Blair nodded. “For the time being yes.”

  
Micki caught his eye. “So, why are you here? What can we do?”

  
Blair sighed. “From what I could dig up, this guy is on the take for the Russian Mob.”

  
Vaslova frowned. “So your case and ours have crossed paths, it would seem.”

  
Blair stared, dumbfounded. “Case?”

  
Vaslova explained. “The FBI wish to disband the Russian Mob here in Cascade. They had asked Micki to help them, provide information on meeting places and times. She was concerned for her safety, but she was certain that the FBI would not be able to protect her as well as someone who understood Russians, so she asked for my help. I am here, and now, so are you.”

  
Blair shook his head. “Jim’s going to love this.”

  
Micki laughed lightly. “Who is this Devlin you spoke of?” Vaslova sat forward as Blair explained about Mark Devlin and his transfer from California. He went on to tell about the fax and the flight from his home in search of the shadows, trying to stay out of the light so that Devlin wouldn’t find him and use him against his partner. When he explained about finding the connection to the Russian Mob and his wish for more information, Vaslova stopped him.

  
“You say he is from L.A. Vice? I think I have heard of this man. But Blair, he is no, how you say, Dirty Cop?”

  
“You haven’t heard of him?”

  
“Not in the underground,” confirmed Micki. Blair sat back in thought.

  
“If he’s not known to the underground… wait… what if he’s… shit!”

  
Micki and Vaslova both stared at him in concern. But Blair said nothing as he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts in a whirl.

  
Mark Devlin might not be the bad guy after all.

  
o-O-o

  
Jim was just setting his cup of break room coffee on his desk when he heard Simon open the door to his office.

  
“Jim, I need you in here.” It was said at slightly higher than normal volume, but it was more than enough for the Sentinel. Yet there was an edge to the tone that said that others outside the loop were watching. Jim glanced back at Simon, picked up his coffee and ambled over with a slight frown on his face. Once inside, he noticed the reason for Simon’s restraint. Agents Mulroney and Danforth sat in chairs across the conference table. Jim grimaced as he made his way over.

  
“Frank, fancy seeing you here again. What can Cascade’s finest do for you and the Feebies?” Jim asked as he sat in a chair across from the two suits.

  
“Detective Ellison. I was hoping that your partner would also be around.” Mulroney growled as Danforth sat back to watch the tangle. Jim had the feeling that the younger man really didn’t like Mulroney, thought the man was too rough for this sort of work anymore. But Mulroney was still here and Danforth was still his partner and that was just the end of it. But the way that Mulroney had said partner, with the obvious sneer in his voice, got to the younger Agent as well as to Simon and Jim as they sat across from them. Jim didn’t let it faze him in the least.

  
“Unfortunately, Sandburg is busy with the Seattle Police working on evaluations of all units and PDs in the state. I could give him a message for you, if you need.” Jim sat back and smiled. Danforth attempted to hide a smile. Mulroney glared.

  
“Look, you tell that little punk to stay out of our mainframe. Tampering with a Federal investigation is against the law. And if he fucks up our mission here, I’ll personally have his ass thrown in the darkest cell I can find!” So Mulroney didn’t do subtle. Jim glared back at the big man, standing to his impressive 6’ 4” height and towering over the still seated agent.

  
“You listen to me, Mulroney. You don’t just come in this precinct and threaten an officer of the law like this. Especially my Partner, get me? And if I find out that one of you stooges has harmed him in any way during the course of his investigation, I will personally see you to hell!” He made a half-hearted grab at the agent which Simon deflected by grabbing his hand and swinging him away towards the door.

  
“Jim, get back to your desk and make an effort to calm down! I’ll finish up with these two and talk to you later.” Simon didn’t look away from Mulroney who was looking a little green around the gills now. Perhaps he had suddenly remembered that Jim was an Ex-Army Ranger. The speed with which Jim had moved sure would have scared the shit out of Simon and he was the man’s friend.

  
Jim stalked out of the office and back to his desk where he sat with a huff and turned to his computer. He clicked on his messenger service and was confronted with a message left by Simon. He clicked it open and had to clamp down hard on a yell of delight, leaving a slight squeak that everyone heard but many took no notice of. Jim ignored them to read the screen with nervous anticipation.

  
‘Hey Jim,

  
Sorry about the bug and run, but I was a little off my stride thanks to Devlin. Yeah, he’s the one who gave me a little love tap in the stairwell at the precinct. Slammed me against the wall and threatened that if I didn’t lay off him, you and I would find ourselves at the bottom of the Sound with no air tanks. I took the hint, but once I was out on the street, life slammed me back on my ass.

  
I’m a lot calmer now and I’ve been trying to stay off the beat, moving my feet, you know? I hope Sneaks got you that message. I saw you with Jack. I was going to look for him myself but you beat me to it. Thanks for the coat, man. I needed it so badly!

  
Devlin has some nasty charges in his jacket that have been shuttled around. Rumor has it he’s on the take from the Russian Mob. Petty shit, man. Names, dates and places of key people. But his hands have, so far, remained pretty clean. All accept for the money he’s taken. I figured that since this is Russian based, I should speak with someone we both know with Russian Contacts. You remember Micki? I’m going to see her as soon as I can. Maybe I can find some information there.

  
Hey, be careful, ok. And don’t come looking for me, I need you to keep your eyes on Devlin. If he comes after me, I want you on his ass all the way. Be my back up, Jim. That’s where I need you right now.

  
I better go. Catch you later, Man.

  
Love Chief.’

  
Jim swallowed quickly and shut the computer screen down. Aw Chief, what have you gotten yourself into now? I swear, you can find more trouble… but you are still doing the job. I knew you could do it, Kid. Now what does this have to do with Tweedle Dee and Dum in there?

  
Jim watched the office door until Simon opened it again and waved Jim back in. The agents were gone and Jim returned to his coffee, now cold, still sitting on the table. Simon sighed.

  
“Damn Jim, I think the kid is in a real mess here. He’s tapping into Federal hard drives for information and now I got those two suits sniffing around for him. What the hell is going on?”

  
Jim checked the doors and sat down. “He was threatened by Devlin in the stairwell.”

  
“How do you know that? You smell it or something?” Simon asked with interest. Jim smirked.

  
“No, I just got a message from Blair on my computer with your signature on it.” Simon’s eyes went wide.

  
“Why that little shit! How in hell did he get into my service? It’s password protected!” Jim looked askance at Simon and the black man closed his eyes in shame. “Maybe I shouldn’t be so obvious about my passwords?”

  
“Yeah, I’m sure that anyone could figure out that you use Daryl’s birth date as your password. Anyone who knows you anyway, sir. You might want Blair to set up a safe net to block people from tapping your mainframe when this is over.” Jim grinned gleefully. Simon glared.

  
“As if that would stop him. He’d most likely set up a backdoor for himself.” Simon took a sip of his coffee. “So what else did he say?”

  
“He’s checking a Russian contact… Micki Kamerev. The woman from little Russia… who was working with Agent Mulroney and Danforth! Damnit, Blair doesn’t know about any case that Micki’s helping on!” Jim sat up suddenly, agitation clear across his face.

  
“And his bumbling in could jeopardize the entire operation. Wonderful. Let me tell you about this particular operation, Jim. Then maybe you and I can find a way to pull the kid out before he fucks up.”

  
And so the two men sat and talked and discussed options. It would be a long night.

o-O-o

  
The blonde, young woman walked smartly into the police station aiming for the front desk. In moments she had a visitor’s pass and was making her way up to the 8th floor and Major Crimes. Her mind rambled as she struggled to keep her breathing smooth and calm, as she had been directed. When the elevator doors opened, she walked out and opened the door to Major Crimes. She stopped for a moment once inside and slowly turned, her eyes panning to scan the room. Once she had her target, she started off again, walking straight for a desk that sat in the corner. The detective sitting behind the desk glanced up at her approach. Her eyes hardened at the recognition in his eyes but a negative shake of her head had him keeping his mouth shut.

  
She pulled an envelope out of her bag and dropped it on the desk, turned smartly again and left the room. She kept her head down and made no eye contact. Mark Devlin walked in as she left the room through another door. He never saw her and didn’t catch the interaction between her and Jim Ellison, the detective she had sought out. With a secret smile, she entered the elevator once again and rode it down to the main lobby, turned in her visitor’s badge and left the building. Mission complete.

  
o-O-o

  
Jim snatched the envelope from his desk and stood carefully, glancing around the room for any sign of prying eyes. Devlin walked in but took no notice of the other man, turning to his desk and picking up his jacket before leaving for the day. Jim sighed in obvious relief.

  
He turned for Simon’s door, knocking once before entering and closing the blinds. Simon looked up. “You got something?”

  
“Katrina Kamerev just walked into the bullpen and dropped this on my desk.” Jim smirked as he dropped the envelope on Simon’s desk.

  
“Who?” Simon asked, stupefied. Jim sighed.

  
“Micki Kamerev’s sister. She was being held hostage for a case of drugs?” Jim explained patiently. Simon nodded and waved his hand as he appeared to remember.

  
“So just like that she comes in and drops this off? No words, no nothing?” Simon picked up the envelope and his letter opener. Jim was shaking his head as he watched with excitement.

  
“Not a word, in fact she didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone. I almost blurted something out but I caught on quickly. Devlin walked in just as she left, but he didn’t see her, I don’t think. He left for the night.” Jim moved around the desk to look over Simon’s shoulder. Inside the envelope was a sheet of paper with only one written line.

  
‘Devlin isn’t the villain.’

  
There was nothing else, but it had been written by Blair, Jim recognized the hand writing. He sighed in frustration. “Ok, so if Devlin isn’t the bad guy, why get in Sandburg’s face? Hell why the threat at all?”

  
“Let’s think for a second. What did Sandburg do that set Devlin off?” Simon took out one of his ever present cigars and stuck it in his mouth. Jim grimaced. One of these days he and Blair would have to find something to replace those damn things. Then he turned back to the question.

  
“Blair wasn’t doing anything but paperwork. We were planning to go camping, so he was finishing up his stuff while I chased down a dead lead. He might have gone to get his mail and faxes… and got something from Jack on Devlin. And Devlin caught him with it in the stairwell…” Jim sat in the chair across the desk from Simon, his face screwed up in thought.

  
“And that fax said something about Devlin being on the mob’s payroll…” continued Simon. Jim shook his head.

  
“But he’s not the bad guy here… he transferred from Vice… SHIT!” Jim stood suddenly, his entire body vibrating with shock and surprise. Simon stood up, expecting trouble.

  
“Jim? What is it?”

  
Jim stared at Simon, a gleeful smile on his face. “Devlin’s not the villain… he’s undercover!”

  
o-O-o

  
Blair settled in on the roof of the apartment building. He had sent Micki and Vaslova off to do their business, promising that he would stay out of sight until they needed him. He had already figured out that Devlin was under cover, probably since he had been in L.A. His transfer to Major Crimes was in a time of budget rearrangements and he had slipped in as a normal cop. He was a normal cop, but he had most likely been playing this Russian mob case for some time. He was in deep and Jack must have found out, not realizing the scam on the Russians, and sent news to Blair. That’s why the fax.

  
But what Devlin’s job for the mob was, no one could say. Vaslova believed that Micki might become a target of the mob. They had worked hard to show Micki as a dissenter and stumbling block for the mob bosses. They were a ruthless bunch and would not suffer her to live for long if she was screwing up their business. They could see Devlin as an information source, but Blair had a feeling that the Fed’s plan was to push Devlin further inside. That would mean he would have to escalate. Taking out the thorn in their paw would be a good way for a mouse to worm his way into the lion’s den.

  
Blair smiled against the cold as he realized what had inadvertently happened. Devlin had caught sight of the fax and thought that he, Blair, was digging into Devlin’s past. So he felt he had to scare the rookie off the non-existent case. Catch him in the stairwell, put the fear of God in him, walk away, and watch the kid piss his pants. Only one thing was wrong with that. Blair was no ordinary rookie. He had spent nearly four years going up against some of the ruthless, sadistic and psychotic bastards and bitches in the business. Not much really scared him and if it was a threat to his Sentinel, then that just slowed him down for a moment.

  
But now, Blair was in full command of his emotions. Devlin would never hurt his partner; he was a good cop playing a bad game with worse players. And Blair could understand the need for secrecy in this game. He sat until nightfall on the roof, composing in his head just the report he would have to file for himself, Jim, and Devlin, to make this all work out without fucking them all over. The Master Obfuscator chuckled to himself. This was going to be one hell of a story.

  
o-O-o

  
Jim was going slightly mad. He had been following discretely behind Devlin for most of the day, his senses more than equal to the task with Megan at his side. He and Simon had discussed this to the gills and decided that the core of Major Crimes would need to be told. Jim had chosen to talk to Megan and Joel while Simon took Rafe and Brown in hand. Once they had been clued in, many things made more sense. Jim asked Megan to help him focus, knowing that his Partner would appreciate that he wasn’t doing it all alone. The last thing he wanted to hear from his Shaman was a lecture on Lone Wolf tactics.

  
With Megan’s hand on his right thigh, Jim navigated the mean streets of Cascade while keeping an ear on the distinct knock and ping of Devlin’s Ford Escort. The Vice cop was only three blocks away and moving steadily in the direction of the warehouse district. Jim kept at least five cars between them at all times while also keeping an eye out for the Feds. Throughout the ride Megan had been silent. Now, as they were coming to what they believed was the end of their ride, she ventured a question.

  
“Do you think Sandy is out here?” Jim glanced in her direction and shook his head.

  
“Nah, Sandburg is with Micki. If Devlin is supposed to do something to garner the mob’s attention, it will have to do with her. The kid will stay with the obvious and let us deal with the details. It’s not like he has much to work with.”

  
Megan nodded. “So we get him something more to work with, like Devlin and who he’s chatting up here in the warehouses.”

  
“Exactly.” Jim stopped speaking when he noticed the Escort take the turn into a shipping yard and stop in front of a warehouse on the left hand side. Staying just out of eye sight but well within his range of hearing, he turned off the engine and listened for the ping of the Escort. Latching on to Devlin’s heartbeat, he ‘followed’ the cop inside and listened to the conversation.

  
“Ah, the Devil himself. It is good to see you, my friend.”

  
“Good to see you as well Boris. I take it that you found my previous work satisfactory?” Devlin sounded tight, like he was trying really hard to impress these people. The first voice spoke again.

  
“Yes, yes. We will have a drink first. Then we will, how you say, talk shop?”

  
Liquid was poured into glasses, glasses were passed around and they drank. When they were finished, the glasses were set down and the conversation resumed.

  
“So, what is the job you were so concerned about?” asked Devlin.

  
“We are attempting to solidify our hold here in Cascade but have come across a rather loud dissenter. We would wish for you to eliminate her for us.”

  
“Time and place?” Jim reached out a hand for a pen and paper that Megan provided for him without question.

  
“The time is tomorrow morning; the place is in her own home. I want no one to know she is dead for some time. There is talk that she has a lover who lives with her. Kill them both.”

  
“A little fast, isn’t it?”

  
“Are you concerned that you cannot complete the job?”

  
“No, I’m just wondering what’s your rush, that’s all.”

  
Silence.

  
“We have had trouble with members of the Cascade Police before. We wish this to be over quickly so that we may return to the shadows, secure in the knowledge that our enemies do not survive to hunt us.”

  
Silence again.

  
“Right, I think I can understand. So tonight, when everyone is asleep, who is this you want me to kill?” Jim pulled his hearing back and started the truck. He didn’t need to hear who was to be killed. He already had a pretty good idea that the target was Micki. It was all a little too convenient. Trust Sandburg not only to find a fake dirty cop in the works, but also to, without any help at all, follow the clues and be in the right place at the wrong time.

  
Driving back to headquarters Jim caught Megan up on what he heard. When he was finished, she let out a long low whistle. “Damn Sandy, you never do things by half measures, do you?”

  
“Yeah, so I’ve noticed. With Sandburg there is no such thing as coincidence.”

  
o-O-o

  
The first sound that Blair heard was the scraping of a pick in the lock of the door into the apartment. He slid the baseball bat out from under the couch where he had laid it as he slept on the cushions. Unless someone was expecting him to be there, no one knew he lay in wait. In the other room the sisters Micki and Katrina slept in the queen sized bed. Vaslova lay in her own bed in the second bedroom. Whether she was asleep or not, Blair didn’t know. But he had a feeling that something was coming soon.

  
An hour before, he had been sitting on the roof of the apartment building watching the cars go by. That’s when he had seen H and Rafe in a van park across the street. Glancing up the street, he saw Jim’s truck and could imagine that Megan, Simon or Joel sat with him. Swinging his vision the other way gave him Simon’s car with him and Joel in the front seat, which answered the question of who sat with Jim. His suspicions were now confirmed and he slipped down the fire escape and rapped on Micki’s window. Within minutes he was inside and the plan was put into motion.

  
Now he lay on the couch, perfectly still, and listened for the door to click open. Hushed voices met his ears as two people began to argue just outside.

  
“I told you, I could do this myself.”

  
“Da, but Boris wishes for me to see to it that you do your job well. It must look like an execution.”

  
“I understand that. Fine, then you come, but stay out of my way. Once we are done, you can go back downstairs and tell them that I did the job right.”

  
Blair knew that one person was Devlin, the other was an unknown but not anyone of major influence. The main guys were outside and downstairs. Blair grinned. Not likely to cause any trouble though, once Jim and the gang cut them off. But Blair wanted this unknown alive to press for compete clarification. He dragged the bat to his chest as the two shadows moved into the room and past him, intent on their journey to the bedroom. Devlin had his weapon out, aiming it ahead of him. The other man also had a weapon, which he pointed into the room where Vaslova laid. Blair snuck up behind them both and raised his bat in total silence.

  
“Freeze! FBI!” The yell caught Devlin and the other man by surprise. Blair struck out quickly, knocking the gun out of the thug’s hands, then slamming his shoulder into the man, knocking him away from Devlin. Devlin hit his knees with his hands raised, the gun dropped from his hands. Mulroney and Danforth burst into the room, grabbing the thug from under Blair and helping Devlin to his feet. Blair twisted around, grabbed the handcuffs from Danforth’s belt and proceeded to cuff Devlin.

  
“I’m not sure who you are, but you are not Mark Devlin.” He barked, purely for the thug’s hearing. Once the thug was dragged away, Blair removed the cuffs and turned to Micki with a thumbs up. She returned the smile while holding her sister to her tightly. Devlin turned to Blair and grabbed him into a bear hug.

  
“You ok Kid? God, I am so sorry!” Devlin pulled Blair into the light, checking him carefully. That was the moment when Blair felt he could totally relax.

  
“Hey man, it’s all cool. I figured it out and we have back up.” Just then Jim burst into the room and swept his partner into another bear hug, Simon and Megan directly behind him.

  
“Damnit Chief, what the hell!” Jim pulled back enough to look in his friend’s eyes. “Are you ok?”

  
“Yeah Jim, I’m fine. Just a little tired… little hungry… and I could use a shower. How can you stand to be right here next to me?” Blair quirked an eyebrow at his partner’s obvious embarrassment.

  
“Got smell turned down to next to nothing. I just wanted to be sure you were safe.” Jim stepped back as Simon waded in.

  
“God damnit, Sandburg. What the hell were you thinking, pulling a Jim like this? I expected this sort of Lone Wolf attitude from him, but not you!”

  
“But Simon…”

  
“Lone Wolf, stubborn, bull-headed, thinks he knows what's best for all concerned ... crap!”

  
“But Simon…!”

  
“I said NO!”

  
“But Simon, please! You gotta understand, I didn’t mean to leave you all out of the loop! I tried to give you as much info as I could!”

  
"Blair, you really don't want to push this... and it's Captain!" Simon began growling with each passing sentence. Jim leaned against the wall to watch with obvious glee. Megan stood next to them and both wondered if Blair was going to get out of this one at all. Finally on the last bark, Simon actually let loose a tight snarl low in his throat. Blair ducked his head shyly, hair falling to obscure his slight smile.

  
"Eeeeps! Guess you're not gonna need any help getting in touch with your inner beast eh Captain?” snickered the young man.

  
Finally Simon stalked out of the room with a final order of getting the report to all of this on his desk by Monday morning… It was now late Saturday night. Blair grimaced as he thought of all the paperwork he was going to have to deal with in the next 24 to 48 hours. Jim grinned.

  
“It could be worse Chief… he could have busted you back down to Traffic Cop for a week or two.” He reached out and pulled his friend into a one armed hug as he ushered the tired man out of the apartment and towards the stairs.

  
“Busted back? Hell I was never one to begin with!” yelped the young man. Jim snorted and held a finger to his partner’s lips.

  
“Shh, Chief. I'm sure he wouldn't mind rectifying that situation...” He grinned widely.

  
“Jim? Shaddup!”


End file.
